Samsung does the best job at updating its phones with new security fixes, even though it has countless devices in its repertoire. More often than not, Samsung updates at least one of its phones or tablets a new month's security fixes before that month even begins.
And while Android 13 has been taking up a lot of Samsung's time and possibly delaying the November 2022 security update for everyone as a result, we expect Samsung to continue its expert software update rollouts going forward.
As you may be aware, Samsung divides devices by how regularly they get security updates. The company's flagship phones get monthly updates for at least two years before being switched to quarterly security updates. They are then downgraded to biannual updates before eventually getting struck off the list of supported devices.
Many of you might be aware that Samsung has extended how long it supports its phones, and it's got a nice little site telling you which device is currently in which security update schedule.
What about its Galaxy S flagships that sell by the boatload ever year? Which Galaxy S phones are currently on the monthly, quarterly, or, as Samsung calls it, biannual security update schedule?
Galaxy S smartphones on monthly, quarterly, and biannual update schedule
Well, here's the list:
- Monthly updates: Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 5G, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20+ 5G, Galaxy S20 Ultra, Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, Galaxy S20 FE, Galaxy S20 FE 5G, Galaxy S21 5G, Galaxy S21+ 5G, Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, Galaxy S21 FE 5G, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, Galaxy S22 Ultra, Galaxy S10 Lite
- Quarterly updates: Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 5G
- Biannual updates: None
As you can see, there's a huge number of Galaxy S phones — everything from 2020 onwards — that are still officially in the monthly updates list. Some of these devices will get downgraded to quarterly updates in the future, but don't be too disappointed because updates will still come for those devices, just not as regularly as they used to.
Out of the phones mentioned above, Samsung will also provide four generations of Android upgrades to anything launched since (and including) the Galaxy S21 series). And if you own an Enterprise edition of some of the listed devices, you will also get five years of security updates to go along with the Android and One UI updates, though again, they won't be released regularly in the final couple of years.
